Staff writer
The Peabody-Burns High School Lady Warriors competed at the Wheat State League Tournament on Saturday at Solomon. The team earned three wins early on, defeating Solomon, 25-11 and 25-18; White City, 25-20 and 25-23; and Centre, 25-23 and 25-19.
They were defeated by Little River in the semifinals, 24-26 and 22-25. Their final match of the competition was a victory against Centre, 25-21 and 25-21, for third place in the tournament behind Goessel in first and Little River in second.
Solomon
Solomon scored an early two, but Tori Schroeder got PBHS on the board with a kill. A Rayna Barnes block gave the team a 3-2 edge. Paige Lewis got on the board with a kill to put the PBHS team up, 5-2. Three Barnes aces, a Lewis kill, and a Sarah Hofkamp block made the PBHS margin 12-5. Kaycy Gonzalez added two kills and an ace, and Brandee Burnett finished the game with a winning kill, 25-11.
Schroeder opened game two with a kill, Burnett added an ace, and PBHS led, 2-1. Lewis and Hofkamp each had a tip, but Solomon challenged and took the lead. Barnes and Schroeder added kills and Gonzalez tied the game at nine with two aces. Two aces from Burnett gave the PBHS squad a 5-point cushion, but Solomon again rallied and came back to within one, 16-15. Schroeder, Lewis, Burnett, Hofkamp, and Gonzalez all scored points late in the game. McKenzie Ensminger ended the game with an ace, 25-18.
White City
PBHS earned the early lead with a Burnett ace and kills from Lewis and Gonzalez. The Lady Warriors led by as many as seven and held off a late White City surge for the 25-20 victory.
The Lady Warriors trailed by four in game two before Schroeder scored with a kill. A Burnett ace closed the margin to one, but White City added two. The Lady Warriors trailed by as many as six before they rallied. Gonzalez earned a tie at 18 with a kill, and Burnett followed with a tip. Barnes added a tip, but Solomon still had the edge. Lewis came on strong at the end, earning three kills and finishing the game, 25-23, with a tip.
Centre
Barnes opened with two blocks. Burnett added an ace, as did Barnes, and PBHS led, 6-2. Schroeder scored two aces and had a block and three kills. Late in the game Centre challenged, but PBHS hung on for the 25-23 victory.
A Lewis kill and two aces from Barnes gave the PBHS squad the lead, 5-3, early in game two. Kills from Lewis, Gonzalez and Barnes helped to hold off a Centre surge. Ensminger added two aces and the 19-15 edge went to the PBHS squad. Gonzalez, Schroeder, and Lewis each recorded kills for the 25-19 win.
Little River
Schroeder opened game one with a kill and Burnett followed with an ace. Little River came back to score three and took the lead, 4-2. Lewis had a tip and Hofkamp a block and the game was even at four. Barnes broke the tie with an ace. Burnett, Schroeder, Lewis, Barnes and Gonzalez kept the team ahead and PBHS led, 22-19. Hofkamp added a tip for the PBHS squad, but Little River came back to take the last four points in game one. PBHS lost, 24-26.
Little River took the 8-2 lead in game two. PBHS played from behind, getting points from Ensminger, Gonzalez, Burnett, and Lewis. Gonzalez scored an ace late in the contest to get the PBHS squad to within one, 22-23. Little River however, scored the final two points to take the match.
Centre
In the third-place match, PBHS trailed by four in game one before Schroeder scored with a kill. Barnes got a block and Schroeder added a kill. A Barnes ace gave the team a 6-5 edge. Centre came back to take the lead, but a tip from Burnett tied the score at 12. Again, PBHS fell behind, but a block from Hofkamp tied the score at 20. Gonzalez had two kills late in the game, and PBHS defeated Centre, 25-21.
Game two began with early points on the board for Centre. PBHS rallied and a kill from Gonzalez tied the score at eight. PBHS remained in the lead with scoring from Hofkamp, Barnes, Schroeder, and Lewis. A Lewis kill ended game two, 25-21.